Hi everyone! I hope everyone is coping well with this crisp, cold weather! Today is the day to get into the Christmas spirit with these gorgeous mince pies.

Ingredients –

·2 level tbsp caster sugar

·450g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

·Good pinch of salt

·250g salted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes

·50g Pure Vegetable Fat, chilled, cut into small cubes

·2 egg yolks from large eggs

·822g jar mincemeat

·Icing sugar, for dusting

Directions –

1.Dissolve the caster sugar in 3 tbsp hot water. Then, leave it to cool and then chill it further in the fridge. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and add the butter and vegetable fat and rub in with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Next, mix the yolks with the sugared water and add to the bowl. Mix with a round-bladed knife until the mixture clumps together to form a dough.

2.Gather the pastry dough with your hands, wrap it in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Then, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Cut out 28 x 8cm rounds and 28 x 7cm stars using your star cutters. Gather the leftover dough, roll out and cut out more shapes!

3.Pre-heat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Use the rounds to line the holes of two 12-hole tins, easing them to fit in snugly. For the mince pies, fill each hole with a large teaspoon of mincemeat. Cover the edges of the pastry with and egg or milk wash and then place the stars over the mincemeat, and press their ends against the shells to seal.

4.Bake the mince pies for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave them in the tins for 10 minutes, then ease them out and transfer to a wire rack for them to cool. Finally, give them a light dusting of icing sugar before serving!

We hope you enjoy this gorgeous mince pie recipe and have a happy Black Friday!